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The closure of police stations and the demise of community policing will inevitably mean that the only contact the public will have with police officers will just be in stressful situations such as when they are the victims of crime, involved in an accident or indeed rebuked, reported or arrested. Police will be seen as remote, authority figures as is the case in so many countries. At present however, police retain the support of the public. Although politicians treat them as such, the public are not fools.

With over 36,000 cash machines in the UK, victims would be able to send short text-based messages directly to the police in a discreet way and help them receive assistance from a specialist officer. Such an innovation would help those who may be controlled by their partner, and are fearful of visiting a police station in case they're seen.

Our criminal justice system has long discriminated against those who have lost family members at the hands of the police. Instead of being recognised as victims, such families are victimised from the very first meeting with the police onwards.

Make no mistake, moderate British Muslims have been expressing their concerns as to the rise of Islamic extremism in the UK since the 1990's and could well argue that they have already made a significant contribution to curbing the excesses of fanatical, Islamist groups.

The introduction of gunfire detectors will help to save lives. Cutting the response time of armed officers, alongside providing them with accurate information about the location of an armed individual, will ensure incidents are dealt with as quickly as possible. During a time of tight financial constraints, the use of such technology offers a smart solution that is relatively low cost when taken in the context of the billions spent annually on anti-terror activities.

While remembering both officers came from different units, this rings alarm bells of a possible more wide-spread culture where attempts are made to falsely discredit, alienate and drive out officers who dare to criticise - even if they were right to complain.

At this moment in time UK officers have to contend with the fact that the edifice of British policing is rapidly crumbling, eroded by both cutbacks and politically expedient bile... The death of Neil Doyle will place a further dent in police morale yet of course it is still 'business as usual' as far as devastated but committed Merseyside police officers are concerned.

As counter terrorism awareness week commences front line police officers in London and elsewhere are becoming increasingly fearful that they are likely to become victims of savage targeted attacks on the streets of the UK by fanatical Islamist jihadists.

The revelation by the Police Federation that the morale of rank and file officers was at its lowest ever level will as no surprise to those struggling to maintain an effective police service in urban and rural areas throughout the UK.

It's good news that crime is falling and our cities, towns and neighbourhoods are becoming safer. But there is much more to be done. It is alarming to see that the very people we depend on are being beaten up just for doing their job. They need to be treated with respect.

Make no mistake, I am all for ensuring the police service isn't top heavy and is more able to respond to the ever changing needs of those it serves, but I would plead with the next Government to think hard about what policing means to the British public and encourage them to move quickly away from thinking about policing purely in the terms of numbers and figures.

Austerity, and online petitions have much in common. Both are dominant online topics, and both have a polarising effect on opinion as to whether they can ever truly yield successful outcomes. Petitions seem to be becoming the reposte of choice for those affected by the worst effects of austerity, and today I read about a case that exemplifies this brilliantly.

When the UK is hosting a two day international summit on the illegal wildlife trade, involving two future kings of our country and world leaders from fifty nations, all invited by the prime minister, why does the Met police have a team of only five people to fight an illegal trade estimated to be worth $19billion a year? Isn't it time we got serious about this crime?

But the anger about the death of Mark Duggan was never just about the man himself. It was about long standing issues between communities and the police. So anger about this week's verdict of "lawful killing" is about so much more than the technicalities of the case.

About Metropolitan Police

The Metropolitan Police Service was founded by Sir Robert Peel in 1829. Today its head is commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe. The Met police has recently been subject to controversy over allegations some journalists gave money to police for information during the phone hacking scandal. A force is also known as "the Met", "Met Pol", "MP" and "the MPS" and has more than 31,000 officers together with about 13,000 police staff and 3,700 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). The MPS is also being supported by 2,500 volunteer police cadets and more than 5,000 volunteer police officers from the Metropolitan Special Constabulary (MSC) and its Employer Supported Policing (ESP) programme. The Metropolitan Police Services covers an area of 620 square miles and a population of 7.2 million.